Improvement in piano-lid props



D. P. RAMSDELL.

Piann'Lid Prop.

. N 159 04] I Pat ente'dJan. 26.1875.

WM min THE GRAPHIC CO, PHOTO 'UTHJQE 4| PARK PlACJLY.

UNITED STATEs PATENT ()FFIGE.

DANIEL P. RAMSDELL, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF HIS RIGHT TO THACHER B. CARPENTER, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT lNPlANO-LID PROPS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 159,04 l, dated January 26, 1875; application filed December 3, 1874.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DANIEL P. RAMsDELL, of the city and county of New Haven, in the State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Piano-Lid Props; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, making a part of this specification.

My invention relates to automatic props for holding open lids of pianos; and consists in an improved device by which their automatic action is secured.

The object of my invention is a strong, durable prop, which is operated by opening and closing the lid of the piano in the ordinary way. I

The outer lines in Figures 1 and 2 represent the outlines of the case in which the improvement is inclosed. The case is fastened to the inside of the piano.

But a case is not essential to my improved device, as it may be attached to the inside of the instrument.

In Fig. 2, A is the prop in its place with the lid closed. It is made with the straight slot 0 parallel with its sides, and has its front end beveled in the manner shown. Through the slot 0 the supporting-stud a passes into the case and is securely fastened to it. In Fig. 2 the lever B and spring D are also shown. The lever B turns 011 a stud 0 in the case, as shown, and is made with its arm toward the spring the longest and heaviest, this end of the arm being rounded. The spring D is flat, and has one of its ends attached to the case, and the other end rests on the bevel of the prop A.

From this description of the parts and the dotted lines shown in Fig. 1, the operation of my improved prop will be readily understood.

As shown in Fig. 2, the spring D presses on the bevel of the prop forcing the back end of the prop upward against the lid, and as the lid is raised, this end of the prop rises with it until the prop comes against the edge of the case, when it is ready to receive and support the lid, as shown in Fig. l. The weight of the lid forces the prop downward to the position shown by the dotted lines, the prop being guided in its descent by the stud a, and, forcing down the short arm of the lever B, raises the longer arm until the lever is in the position shown by the dotted lines. This moy ement of the lever B raises the spring 1) to the position shown by the dotted line, and detaches it from the prop A. As the lid is slightly raised in closing it, the prop A, detached from the spring D, falls until the bevel meets the spring D, and arrests its farther descent, except by the weight of the lid, which forces the prop down, raises the spring D, and thus releases the lever B, when both the lever B, by the weight of its longer arm, and the prop A, by the force of the spring D, resume their positions, as shown in Fig. 2, with the lid closed.

My invention is described as an improvement in piano-lid props, but it is equally applicable to other lids.

I claim as my invention 1. The prop A, provided with the straight slot 0, in combination with the stud a, lever B, and spring D, as set forth.

2. In an automatic lid-prop device, the lever B, arranged to operate in connection with the prop A and spring D, in the manner described, substantially as set forth.

3. In an automatic lid-prop device, the prop A, made with the straight slot 0, as set forth.

DANIEL P. RAMSDELL.

Witnesses:

F. A. ROBINSON, WM. A. WRIGHT. 

